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Daily Madden: Golf Gets Back To Its Drought-Tolerant Roots At The British Open

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of The 143rd Open Championship at Royal Liverpool on July 17, 2014 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

(KCBS) – With the British Open underway at Royal Liverpool, TV viewers are getting a look at a different kind of golf course.

“We talk about the drought and how we have to let some lawn go and some grass go and all that stuff,” John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew. “If you watch this Open, you can see that that’s kind of like where the game started, and it’s okay to have a little dead grass.”

The British Open, first played in 1860, is the oldest golf championship in the world.

“Historically that’s probably the way it’s always been played,” Madden said. “But out here we kind of think that 365 days a year we have to have perfect golf course conditions.”

The Royal Liverpool layout and conditions have many pros hitting long irons off the tee. “(It shows) you need different clubs for different tracks,” Madden said. (6:35)

Daily Madden

(Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.)